BACKERS - IT'S TIME TO PICK YOUR COLORS!
Enter your email address and EVERYTHING you have backed will be shown. Select a color for each of the perks you have backed.
Deadline for color selection is March 16, 2022!
Because of how the moulds were made, you now have 3 different options to choose from when selecting your keycap colors:
1) All keycaps, including the Function keycaps are the same color.
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2) All keycaps, except the Function keycaps are the same color, with a different color for the Function keycaps.
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3) All SMALL keycaps are the same color, with the LARGE keycaps (CTRL, RESTORE, RETURN, LEFT-SHIFT, RIGHT-SHIFT, SPACE BAR, and FUNCTION KEYS) a different color.
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If you just backed a set of Function keycaps then you will see a split screen with just the Function keycaps available for choosing their color.
Once you submit the color choices you should be getting an email (check your spam folder!) with your color selections. I will get the color selections as well and those will go into a database for each of the backers.
Once I have a significant number of backers supplying their color choices I can then determine if there is enough interest in a particular color to justify doing a production run of that color. There are two moulds, one for the smaller keycaps and one for the larger keycaps. It should be possible to have all colors because of this, but if I find there is too little of interest in a color then I will contact everyone to make this known so that they can choose another color or perhaps we can all come up with an alternate color. To make this cost effective I have to run at least 100 sets of keycaps from either mould, because there is a setup cost every time a color is changed.
ABOUT THE 'COMMODORE' KEYCAP - Because some may not like the custom C64 logo, EVERY single keycap set will include an extra BLANK row 4 keycap in the same color you choose for the main keycap colors. You will be able to do whatever you like with this keycap.
I would like to give a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Vince for coding and working out the color picker! It makes this process easy for you and actually workable for me!
I apologize for the delay in getting the color picker available. My father was hospitalized in mid-February and passed away a week ago. I have been handling the family affairs and so I am just now really able to get back to somewhat normal. My father is solely responsible for my introduction to Commodore computers. In 1977 he got a PET2001 and asked me to learn to use it so I could write an inventory control program for a large museum. Were it not for that event, it is unlikely I would have gone on to spend several decades designing hardware and writing software specifically for Commodore machines as my actual day job. Thanks Dad!
UPDATE: January 20, 2022
We have final printed keycap samples! There are a few tiny issues (tilted text) that will be resolved during production.
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I am working with the factory to setup direct shipping from their facility to the backers located in Europe (which is 80% of the keycaps). They will be closed for Chinese New Year in a week, but they will return around the 10th of February and will start production. I will update this page for info on how you can choose your keycap colors.... stay tuned!
UPDATE: October 7, 2021
We have moulds for the keycaps! The company making these is currently making the film and stamps for a pad printing process that will be used to print the keycap tops and faces. This will take a bit of time as they are machined. I expect to have a picture of a final result sometime during this month. I was not given a hard date.
Below is the picture of actual production keycaps!
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PLEASE make sure that you keep your address current! Backers from outside of the U.S. will have their pledges shipped directly from the factory in China. All North American backers will be shipped directly by me in the U.S.
Once final printed keycaps samples arrive I will ask everyone (through a survey) to state the color(s) that they want for the main keycaps and the function keys. These can be two different colors, or the same colors. If you don't remember what keycap colors options there are, please look at the keyboard generator here:
ONCE THESE KEYCAPS HAVE BEEN SHIPPED TO BACKERS THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE CBMSTUFF.COM WEBSITE.
After shipping starts I will launch another campaign for a complete replacement keyboard for the C64/C64C computers!
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100% FUNDED AS OF 12/30/2019 - WORKING ON THE STRETCH GOALS!
The Campaign...
In early March 2015, a crowd funded campaign was launched to repair the molds and produce the plastic cases used for the original Commodore 64C computer. This meant that cases in colors other than what were originally produced could be available for the first time ever. The retro community rejoiced! I personally backed this project and received several different colored cases, including clear - which is something that I had always wanted.
One thing that has been missing are new keycaps to match these cases, or even to just personalize your existing computer. Old plastic yellows over time, and although chemical treatments (like "retrobrite") work, it's messy and not a permanent solution. The real solution is make all-new keycaps with modern plastic and printing. So, I am launching this campaign in hopes to do just that! I want to make brand new keycaps for your computer! These would fit the original Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 64C, and possibly other models that used the same keycap plunger design.
The Cost...
Creating tooling (molds) for plastic injection is expensive. Producing keycaps in the U.S. has an average cost of $178 per cap set, with a 1,000 set minimum run. Clearly that is not an attractive option. Cost does go down the higher the volume, but the reality is that this is a very small niche market. If the production quantities could be in the millions (like modern PC keyboards), then we could all enjoy dirt cheap keycaps. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. However, I was able to work out what I believe is pricing that won't break the bank!
The Goal...
There is a minimum requirement of producing 1,000 sets to have reasonable pricing. The Fixed Funding (all-or-nothing) goal of $43,000 is the break-even point for this campaign. This amount will pay for the tooling cost along with 1,000 sets of keycaps, the Indiegogo fee, credit card processing fees, and will offset the typical 5% backer cancellations. This amount also includes the shipping cost the backer pays, which for some reason Indiegogo adds to the total amount you have raised for your campaign. If you select a perk for backing multiple keycap sets (two sets, three sets, etc.) the shipping is combined, and depending on the number of keycap sets you select the shipping cost may be slightly higher than backing just a single set. If you plan to back more than one keycap set, make sure you choose one of the multiple keycap perks. The bottom line is that at least 1,000 keycaps sets must be backed to reach the funding goal. If you are late to this campaign you can see that we have greatly exceeded even the stretch goals! Thank you for your support!
What You Get...
Your choice of colors! Right now, the color choices will be either black, white, gray, clear, translucent black, translucent blue, translucent red, breadbin brown, opaque light blue, "function key orange", and "function key gray". You can choose the same or a different color for the function keycaps set. So, either all 66 keys can be the same color, or the 62 main keycaps can be one color and the 4 function keycap set can be a different color.
The keyboard text will be the original breadbin type, with the printing on the top and face of the keycaps. You will choose your keycap color(s) when the campaign ends (first-backed, first-choice of colors). The keycap text color can not be chosen, but it will be the proper contrasting color. You can of course back multiple sets and mix and match keycap colors!
The current campaign color options are shown below. You will choose your color(s) when the campaign ends.
Available keycap colors:
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Black keycaps w/white text
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White keycaps w/black text
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Gray keycaps w/black text
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Clear keycaps w/white text
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Translucent Black keycaps w/white text
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Translucent blue keycaps w/white text
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Translucent red keycaps w/white text
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Breadbin brown keycaps w/white text
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Opaque light blue keycaps w/white text
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"Function key orange" w/white text
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"Function key gray" w/white text
Timeline...
It takes approximately 45 working days to create the molds and make the first samples. If any changes are required to the mold, then there is re-work time required (typically a few days) along with making the new samples. I don't expect any issues with the design of the keycaps themselves since I have already made 3D resin prototypes and have verified their size and fit on an actual keyboard.
The estimated time line is shown below. If there are changes required to the mold or text characters after the evaluation period it will push them timeline out a bit.
- Campaign Ends: January 17th, 2020
- Funds released/tooling ordered: January 22nd, 2020
- Tooling finished: March 25th, 2020 (includes 2 week delay due to Chinese New Year)
- First evaluation samples received: April 2nd, 2020
- Confirmation of number of units and colors: April 6th, 2020
- Full production begins: April 8th, 2020
- First batch received: April 22nd, 2020
- Sorting/evaluation: April 23th, 2020
- Packaging/shipping to backers begins: April 27th, 2020
- Starting to appear In backers hands: May 4th, 2020
Stretch Goals...
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Risks & Challenges
I believe I have what it takes to make this possible:
- I will be using a real company that does nothing but make keyboards and keycaps.
- I have already finished re-creating the keycaps and text.
- I have made functioning prototype keycaps to test fit.
- I have the capability to store, handle, and ship thousands of package to customers.
- I have a long time history in the Commodore community.
I have insurance covering shipments and the facility that would be storing the keycaps (in case of fire), and every protection mechanism I can think of in place already. The actual company producing the product is really the only thing that I can't control. However, I do have three different well established companies that I can use, and they have all agreed on the same price. So, I have backups in place should one company suddenly drops the ball.
Technical details...
I am not a keycap guru. I don't pretend to be, and I previously had zero experience with making keycaps. What have I learned on this journey (and confirmed by the plastic injection companies I have worked with in the past) is that when making keycaps you need to just use a company who's specialty is only making keycaps! That is what I have done for this campaign!
To prove that I have done my due diligence and give you some confidence that this campaign will provide keycaps to backers, I would like to share with you some history and what it takes to make accurate keycaps (besides having the right manufacturer).
The Commodore keycaps were designed by the folks at Commodore Business Machines (CBM). CBM made office equipment like typewriters, adding machines, calculators, etc. long before they ever made the most popular home computer ever sold. So, they had experience with making keycaps and buttons. Ergonomics are important when it comes to typing, so the keycaps used on the keycaps are made up of 10 different shapes. You probably wouldn't know it just by looking at the keyboard, but there is a deliberate "concaved slope" that makes up the keyboard shape. This is not unique to Commodore keyboards though, virtually every keyboard ever made has a contour to allow for better ergonomics.
There are four rows of standard width keycaps along with other keycaps of varying widths. Row 1 has 16 keycaps, Row 2 has 13 keycaps, Row 3 has 14 keycaps, and Row 4 has 13 keycaps. F1 and F5 are unique shapes. F3's shape is shared with CONTROL and RESTORE. F7's shape is shared with both SHIFT keycaps. RETURN and SPACE BAR are unique shapes.
Double-shot vs. single-shot
Commodore used two different techniques to make their keycaps. The VIC-20 and original C64 used a double-shot mold. To prevent keycap text from just wearing off over time, a double-shot process embosses a different colored plastic insert into an outer shell, fusing the plastic together permanently. This process eliminates having to print the text on the top of each keycap. Only the faces of the keycaps are the printed, if necessary. The double-shot process is more durable because no text is printed on the top, but it is also substantially more expensive as elaborate molds have to be created.
The single-shot process is just a single operation, just like a standard plastic enclosure. This uses standard molds, but requires printing on the top and face of each keycap.
Below is a picture (of the bottom side) of double-shot and single-shot keycaps. You can easily see the difference between the two methods. I am using the single-shot process for this campaign.
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Keycaps: Double-shot (left) and single-shot (right)
So, how do you create accurate keycaps?
This entire process is shown (quickly) in the campaign video. I used the best method that I could come up with - one that I have used in the past. I used a high precision 3D scanner and scanned each of the 10 different keycap shapes. I scanned each keycap shape 25 times, at 4 different orientations. After the scans were complete I used the stitching operation in the 3D scanner software to piece together the keycap to build a mesh. I used a variety of tools to clean up the mesh. I then used a CAD program to create a 3D model over top of the mesh (attached to it), and then removed (threw away) the mesh completely. So, I really just used the scanning and mesh as a reference for the basic keycap shape (width/length/height) to create the 3D models. It's interesting to note that the original Commodore keycaps were not perfectly symmetrical. I am not sure if this was by design or not, but I have made the keycap shapes offered in this campaign perfectly symmetrical. I think they look better and this (along with a completely different plunger receptacle design) also provides a substantial difference to eliminate any potential copyright infringement issues (although this would technically fall under a design patent, which would have long expired had one ever been filed). After I had finished making 3D models of the keycaps I started having some conversations with some individuals who were offering their help with the project. Dan Tootill provided me with his Blender based keycaps that he created by hand (by making profiles from original keycaps). I was able to overlay my meshes and Dan's data to compare with my 3D models. Dan provided the renderings you see above and throughout the campaign video. I would like to thank Dan for his amazing support!
Once the keycap 3D models were made I had to design the internal structure for the plunger receptacle. Knowing how plastic flexes and cracks I opted for a much better design than what was used with the original keycaps. I created a plunger receptacle that was stronger and less likely to show through on the top side due to "sinking". The locking mechanism for the plunger flange is also different from the original keycap design.
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Scanning the keycap with a Matter and Form 3D scanner
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3D modeled result
3D printing some samples
I have been using FDM 3D printers for many years to create pre-production samples of enclosures. The quality of a FDM print is nowhere near the quality of an injection molded part, but it is typically good enough to test fit circuit boards, buttons, knobs, displays, etc. before you commit to having molds made. For something as small as a keycap, a FDM printer is not really an option. So, I looked into 3D resin printers. I purchased several types, but ended up using the Elegoo Mars resin printer for all of the prototyping for this project. Due to the Mars' incredible 50um resolution, the keycap prototypes only required a light sanding of the support attachment points to make them perfectly smooth. When using translucent resin you can see the layer lines, but you can't feel them. I don't normally publicly recommend a product, but in this case the end result was so amazing that it was what motivated me to finish this campaign and get it launched! For more information on the Elegoo Mars 3D resin printer, click here: https://amzn.to/2Qi3Tk2
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C64C, Prototype, and Bread bin Keycaps
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Test Fitting the Prototype
You need text too!
I reached out to some of the old Commodore employees that might have been around when the VIC-20 and C64 were put into production. I was trying to determine what typeface was actually used on the keycaps. There are a LOT of fonts that are close, but nothing I could find was very accurate. None of the old Commodore guys knew for sure what typeface was used. So, I used the same method I used on the keycaps.... take each keycap and scan the top (and face) of them. Then use a variety of programs to clean up the imagery and convert the text into vector format so that each character (or glyph) was the proper height and width, using the original typeface as the reference and re-creating it by hand. Dan had done this as well and he sent his to me and we compared notes on the text structure. 3D artist, Keith Greene, also provided some original bread bin style text that he had done for his rendering projects. I would like to thank Keith for his support as well! After this work was completed I had a series of typeface files, one for each keycap that has printed text.
Some interesting facts about typefaces... Typefaces cannot be protected by copyright in the United States (Code of Federal Regulations, Ch 37, Sec. 202.1(e)). The idea that typefaces (rather than fonts, which are computer software) cannot be copyrighted in the United States is black letter law. 37 C.F.R. § 202.1(e). Under U.S. law, typefaces and their letter forms or glyphs are considered utilitarian objects whose public utility outweighs any private interest in protecting their creative elements. Under U.S. law (and the laws in most all foreign countries), the keycap text could in fact be 100% replicated without concern for copyright - however, I didn't do that just to play it safe.
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Top & Face Text
The end result
As you can imagine, it was a lot of work. I spent hundreds of hours on the scanning and clean up alone. The people who have contributed also have spent many, many, hours to generate their data. I wanted something that was not "sort of like" the original keycap shape. I wanted a drop-in replacement that would pass for the real thing. I have definitely achieved that goal.
What to do about the trademarked "Commodore" key logo and who owns it?
Probably the most talked about part of this project is what should be done about the infamous Commodore key. That famous "chicken head" logo is something that appears as a registered trademark of C= Holdings B.V. in the U.S. See http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=1242650&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=US_REGISTRATION_NO&searchType=statusSearch for details on the trademark.
The interesting twist is that as of January 2019, Commodore Business Machines (CBM) legally owns the trademark to the Commodore name and logos in at least 38 countries, and they have reached out to me to offer permission to use their trademarks for this campaign.
See the new Commodore website: https://commodore-cbm.com/
My Story...
I am a long time Commodore developer and enthusiast. I started with a Commodore PET 2001 in 1977. I have spent the majority of my life as a hardware engineer and software developer, and from 1983 until 2000 I was fortunate enough to have a full time job developing commercial products for the various Commodore machines (PET, VIC-20, C64, C128, and Amiga). When the Commodore market finally diminished, I was forced to move on and develop products for other industries. To date I have designed and produced hundreds of different commercial products ranging from simple electro-pneumatic control systems, to IoT and home automation products, to advanced flight/guidance control systems for ROVs and UAVs. I designed the electronics and plastic enclosures for all of these products, and in the process I have developed great relationships with many domestic and off-shore production companies, including injection molding companies.
It seems that you just can't "quit" the love for retro computers, so in 2012 I got into the retro computing scene and created CBMSTUFF.COM. I have been producing modern products for retro computing enthusiasts as a side business to my day job.
I am the creator/sponsor of CRX, which is an annual gathering of Commodore enthusiasts from all over the world. More information about this event can be found on the CRX website: www.crxevent.com.
Credits...
There have been a lot of people providing assistance with this project. The list is long, but special thanks goes out to:
- Dan Tootill for providing the AMAZING renderings, various 3D graphics, and keycap text!
- Keith Greene for providing vectorized keycap text.
- Eric Hill (www.amigalove.com) for his keycap research and nudging me to follow through with this project.
- Vince Valenti for creating the great keycap color pickers!
- My wife for loving the nerd in me. :)
- Dedicated to my father, who put me on my career path with a Commodore.
Music:
Eric Skiff - Come and Find Me/B Mix - Resistor Anthems - Available at http://EricSkiff.com/music
Patrick de Arteaga - Chiptronical - Chiptune Music - Available at https://patrickdearteaga.com/chiptune-8-bit-retro/
Legal Disclaimer...
This campaign is in no way associated with C= Holdings B.V. who claims to be the trademark holder for the name "Commodore" and the Commodore logo. Use of the "Commodore" name and pictures of Commodore products falls under "nominative fair use", per U.S. law. No Commodore trademark is being violated by this campaign. There were no design patents ever made for the Commodore C64 keyboard, and if there had been they would have long since expired. Design patents and copyrights for text fonts are not allowed in the U.S. or any other country on the planet.
Copyright and trademark permission has been granted by Commodore Business Machines to use the Commodore name and logos (although this campaign is not currently using them until this matter is investigated further).
The contents of this campaign are copyright (C) 2019-2022 By CBMSTUFF.COM. You are welcome to use any of the content for the purpose of promoting this campaign only.
Thank you for viewing this campaign! I hope that you will support it! Please tell your friends about it!
http://www.cbmstuff.com
https://www.facebook.com/CBMSTUFF
Black keycaps w/white text
White keycaps w/black text
Gray keycaps w/black text
Clear keycaps w/white text
Translucent Black keycaps w/white text
Translucent blue keycaps w/white text
Translucent red keycaps w/white text
Breadbin brown keycaps w/white text
Opaque light blue keycaps w/white text
"Function key orange" w/white text
"Function key gray" w/white text
Keycaps: Double-shot (left) and single-shot (right)
Scanning the keycap with a Matter and Form 3D scanner
3D modeled result
C64C, Prototype, and Bread bin Keycaps
Test Fitting the Prototype
Top & Face Text
